David Zamkov in a Nutshell

     I was born in Washington D.C. on December 14, 1989. My family left Western Africa to have me, and after five weeks we departed back to Africa where we spent the next four years in the Central African Republic, Senegal, and Benin. After a short stint in Williamsburg, Virginia, we moved to Potomac, Maryland where I spent the majority of my childhood. On the first day of fourth grade, when I was just eight years old, my father passed away from Leukemia, which tormented him for much of my early life. I grew from the loss, and after some time moved on.
     My father was a smart, athletic, Polish immigrant. He attended Princeton University after just four years in the United States, and played soccer for the university. I cannot say I am as smart as him, but I would say I inherited his athletic ability. I played every sport growing up and eventually found my first real passion in skateboarding. It was the only activity I had tried that was challenging on every effort. Progression was arduous and frustrating, and developed a passion within me. These are the same traits that got me into diving.
     Diving is the hardest sport I have ever tried and the challenge drew me in. I was good compared to your average person, but I did not want average; I wanted to excel. In 11th grade I began taking diving seriously and committed to three hours of daily practice where a Kazakh and a Bulgarian tortured flexibility and discipline into me. Every day I would leave the pool with new bruises or aches from smacking the water. I prided myself on courage and being so far behind the learning curve of kids my age, I often attempted things I had no business trying. I got whooped in my first three national level meets. I got dead last numerous times, once getting two last places in one day. However my drive never faltered and getting beaten drove me to work harder still. I developed just in time for the recruitment process to begin. I wanted to leave Maryland and looked south.
     In Louisville I saw a diamond in the rough. A university on the rise alongside a large metropolitan called my name. Louisville had just gone to the Final Four, and was en route to the Orange Bowl during my recruitment process, and still nobody from my high school of over 2,000 had ever even applied to Louisville. I made it my mission to put Louisville on the map in Maryland. In 2006, I signed with Louisville. I have since honed my diving skills and won a Big East championship. There is another diver from my club on Louisville Diving, with many others considering it as an option. I cannot say what the future holds for me. I can say I will continue life with the same fervor and passion to succeed that has helped my diving career and my life thus far.